In closed mold composite material manufacturing, tooling that is generally used in the manufacturing process should be able to sustain very high cavity pressures that are required to ensure complete laminate saturation and cure the laminates involved in the manufacturing process. In addition, closed mold composite manufacturing may have a long manufacturing cycle because of limits on the injection pressures that the tooling can withstand. Moreover, the tooling that is used in composite manufacturing may have a short life due to the amount of pressure-induced stress that is applied to the tooling with the pressurization of the tooling cavity. Thus, the cycle for composite manufacturing may be long, and the costs of manufacturing may be high, as the cost for manufacturing and replacing the tooling, due to its short shelf life, may be expensive and/or increase the costs of manufacturing.
There is a need in the art for a process which may decrease the composite manufacturing cycle time while maintaining a high quality. There is also a need in the art for a process that reduces the cost of composite manufacturing, specifically that of the tooling used for manufacture. In addition, there is a need in the art for tooling that provides flexibility in composite manufacturing by providing lighter molds that are quickly interchangeable during manufacturing operations.